


Homophobic Lab Partners

by TerribleTerribleOrbs



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Canon Gay Character, Canon Gay Relationship, Gay, Gay Male Character, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-10-12
Packaged: 2019-07-20 14:42:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16139387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TerribleTerribleOrbs/pseuds/TerribleTerribleOrbs
Summary: A look at pre-relationship Cecil and Carlos, in which Cecil is tested on (ethically, of course) and one of the scientists is homophobic.





	1. Carlos Asks Around (to no avail)

**Author's Note:**

> Big Oof. I like writing about this sort of thing, and I assume that the Night Vale boys have had to deal with this type of bullshit before.

Carlos felt nervous. He had asked everyone else in the lab, but all of them refused to help for one reason or another.

“Neither of us know how to do that, Carlos.” Dr. Mindy had sighed, exasperated. She rolled her eyes at Carlos when he turned to Dr. Bea, pleaing with her silently.

“Sorry Carlos, but she’s right. We specialize in geology, and this is more... human-related science. We would really like to help, of course, anything to prevent you-know-who from getting too close to Cecil, but…” She shrugged, trying to convey as much  _ I’m really soooooooorry  _ as possible with her gaze. 

“Trust me, we know first-hand how awful he can be, and we don’t want him near Cecil. However, we would probably do more harm than good. Why don’t you go ask Dave or Ellie again?” Dr.Mindy had added, loosening the arm she was keeping hooked around Dr. Bea. “I’m sure they’ll cave if you ask em enough.” She turned back to some science she was doing. Specifically, some very not-biology science. Carlos shook his head in defeat.

“Yeah!” Dr. Bea grinned, turning back to her own science. She frowned. “Why did they say no again?”

\------

“Because.” Dave frowned at Carlos, his annoyance clear as day. “Cecil is The Voice! I refuse to do  _ science _ on The Voice.” Carlos should have expected that answer. Dave and Ellie were the only two Nightvalian scientists on the research team, and from day one Dave had simply  _ refused _ to entertain any possibility of experimenting on Cecil. Ellie was usually less worship-y of Cecil, but even she was refusing.

“Sorry Carlos,” She shrugged, sounding apologetic. “Normally I’d be up for testing on people, but Cecil is off-limits. He’s The Voice!” The way she said it made it sound like it was obvious. Carlos still didn’t understand.

“But, I thought you said only the people in Old-Town Night Vale treated Cecil like he was some sort of God-like being.” Carlos countered. Dave (who had grown up in Old-Town Night Vale) shot a glare over at Ellie.

“We treat him with the respect a the voice of our town deserves.” He huffed. Ellie rolled her eyes.

“Besides,” Carlos added, feeling exasperated. “It’s not like I’m planning on jabbing him with test-tubes or anything like that! Just some questions about his eyes, the tattoos… maybe even a blood sample if he feels comfortable. That’s it!” This whole thing was giving him a headache. He had absolutely no desire to treat the radio host like some sort of lab rat! He just wanted a chance to see him- fOR sCieNCe pUrpoSes. At least, mostly for scientific purposes. Almost entirely. Yep, that’s right, at least 99.9% science only.  

“Sorry, Carlos.” Ellie sighed, shaking her head. “We just don’t feel comfortable with it. We understand why you’re asking us, though.”

“Speak of the devil.” Muttered Dave, glaring over at the newly-opened door on the far right side of the lab. Dr. Ross Fraker entered the room, immediately leading Dr. Bea and Dr. Mindy to start towards another door. 

“We’re gonna go start those tests we talked about yesterday.” Mindy yelled to Carlos as Bea opened the door on the far left side of the lab. Outside, a view of reddish sand and redish buildings wavered in the desert heat. 

“Y’know, the rocks we started chipping out of Raydon Canyon? They keep escaping the lab and rejoining the canyon, so we’re just gonna do the tests th-.” Bea quickly tried to add, getting interrupted by the door slamming shut. Carlos winced at a harsh scoff from behind him.

“Should have done that yesterday.” Dr. Fraker muttered, adding a  _ tut tut _ at the end. Carlos reluctantly turned to face older man. Nobody in the lab liked Dr. Fraker. Earlier on, a few of the younger, douchier interns had likes his sense of humor - but all of them had at this point either died or abandoned the research. Dr. Mindy and Dr. Bea despised him - he had been rather blunt about his opinions on their relationship. Ellia and Dave disliked him because of the way he spoke about Cecil - and Carlos disliked him for both of those reasons and more. Overall, pretty shitty guy. That’s why Carlos absolutely despaired at the thought of what he was about to do.

“Dr. Raker?” He said quickly. The older man looked at Carlos. “Would you be interested in assisting me on a new project I’m starting? It’s about Cecil Palmer. He has a lot of aspects that seem pretty in-human, like-”

“Like his sex life?” Dr. Raker snorted. Dave muttered something angry-sounding under his breath, and Ellie quickly turned away from the conversation.

“Dr. Raker-” Carlos started, trying to sound firm. “If you’re going to assist me, you can’t say things like that. It’s… unprofessional.” The older doctor sighed, shaking his head. 

“Alright, I’ll assist you. But I think it’s odd you feel the need to defend things like him.” Dr. Raker muttered. Carlos bit back a scolding about the use of the word ‘things’. It wouldn’t help

So yeah, Carlos was nervous. He was about to perform scientific tests on his gay crush, alongside a homophobic asshole who can’t keep hi mouth shut. Understandably, it’s hard to keep calm in a situation like this.


	2. Just A Warning, Cecil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carlos is rightfully worried about this. Cecil isn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jeez this took way too long. Who knew writing papers on Eugenics could be so draining, right?

Carlos had always liked the way hospital’s smelled. That sharp, rather aggressive scent of cleaning chemicals and hand sanitizer, mixed with plastic-y smells from gloves and such was always comforting. Maybe it was because he had always been into science, but going to the doctors had never bothered Carlos. He enjoyed touching stethoscopes and gazing at pictures of comparisons between the lungs of a smoker and the “healthy” lungs. Anatomy diagrams and eye charts and even the little examination tables for check-ups were just so  _ fun _ . He had even enjoyed studying the needle of a flu shot right before it was injected into his arm.

Carlos held a syringe in his hand, gazing at it with nostalgic giddy-ness. He knew he was grinning like an idiot, but needles and stethoscopes and clipboards with medical questionnaires all reminded him of an eager childhood. 

“Everything is ready, Doctor.”

Dr. Raker held a clipboard in his hand, tapping a legal writing utensil against it impatiently. It was a toothpick dipped in a (possibly illegal) dark ink. It didn’t last long without being re-dipped, but it was definitely one of the nicer (probably) legal things to write with. Carlos had been tempted to use on of his  _ very illegal  _ pens, but he decided against it. Dave and Ellie seemed kinda weirded-out by having pens in the lab, and they were some of the more normal citizens he knew. And, while Carlos liked Cecil plenty, the radio host wasn’t exactly super “normal”.

“Thanks Dr. Raker.” Carlos responded.

“So, listen, Carlos. We should talk about the radio host before he gets here.” Carlos stiffened slightly, expecting what would come next. He reluctantly placed he syringe down onto the table (on top of a clean paper-towel), and looked up at the older scientist.

“What about? We already planned the questions we should ask him-”

“I’m not just talking about the procedure today, Carlos.”

“Oh, if you mean… What he says on the radio, I assure you it’s nothing to worry about.” Carlos said quickly. “He’s probably just joking around, anyway.” He added. That last part, unfortunately, was probably true.

“It’s weird though, Carlos. The fact that nobody in this town has taken any action against this  _ man _ is disappointing, especially because of where it is. In the middle of a rural desert, in… in… in whatever state we’re currently in.” Dr. Raker muttered.

“Not being super professional on the radio is nothing for a  _ town _ to take action against.” Carlos responded quickly. He knew that wasn’t really what Dr. Raker was talking about, but he refused to admit it.

“That’s not what I-”

“Carlos! Cecil’s here.” Ellie’s head poked into the small, sub-lab where Dr. Raker and Carlos were. The room was square, tiny, and had a table in it that closely resembled one you’d see in a doctor’s office. Carlos turned to face her, trying to suppress the rising anxiety in his stomach.

“Thanks, Ellie.” Carlos responded.

“Want me to send him in?” 

“No, no, I’ll come out and get him.” Carlos maneuvered around the table and went through the door - stopping short when he saw Cecil. It was a weird feeling, seeing a man like the radio host. Maybe it was the odd mashup of a very dignified posture and face, with the bright, garish, and usually purple outfits (which he still managed to pull off). Or maybe the dimly glowing, sometimes moving tattoos that rolled and twirled delicately along his arms. Maybe the way his height changed every time Carlos saw him (though he was almost always taller than average height). It was very likely that the deep, baritone voice triggered the odd feelings, or the third eye that occasionally appeared. But it definitely,  _ definitely was not a crush. _ “I - hi Cecil.” Carlos hated how small his voice sounded, like a squeak. Cecil’s eyes (purple today, but sometimes they were featureless all together) flitted up to Carlos, and a grin (filled with slightly sharp teeth) spread across his face.

“Carlos! It’s great to see you.” Carlos resented his high voice even more when Cecil spoke - not that he was really complaining about listening to the radio host. Dave, who was standing right beside Cecil, shot a glare at Carlos.

“Cecil, you really should reconsider-”

“It’ll be fine! I’ve never been asked about this sort of thing before - at least, not by scientists.” Dave was desperately trying to change the Voice’s mind about being questioned. Carlos resisted rolling his eyes.

“Ok, Cecil, we’re right in that room over there. Are you ready to go?” 

“Yep.”

“Alrighty. I’ll fill you in on everything once we’re in there.”

“Ok.”

Carlos started towards the smaller lab, Cecil by his side. He bit his lip, and tried to ignore the thumping of his heart. He knew he needed to give Cecil a bit of a warning.

“Um, Cecil? Just a warning.” Carlos lowered his voice. “Dr. Raker, my partner on this, isn’t very… accepting of people who aren’t like him. Just be wary, ok? And tell me if you’re uncomfortable.” Carlos glanced up to meet Cecil’s gaze, and was surprised to see a pair of totally calm eyes staring back at him. Or, maybe not surprised.

“I know. Dave mentioned it a bit when he was trying to convince not to do this.” 

“Oh. Ok, well, just remember that you could leave whenever you want, ok? You aren’t under any obligation to stay.” Cecil just nodded in response. Carlos swallowed his unease, and stopped in front the door. Slowly, reluctantly, he opened the door. The moment they entered the room, Dr. Raker’s eyes locked onto Cecil with clear malice.

“Well, if ain’t the fairy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be out soon, don't even worry about it. In the next week, promise. I'm getting to the real MEAT of this story.


End file.
